


Gone

by Amarylissa



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: 1_million_words, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 04:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarylissa/pseuds/Amarylissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A case for Five-0   - Danny's in trouble</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Kaige68 for the beta - all remaining mistakes are my own.

Detective Danny Williams was in the office alone, working late to finish a report. Mike Stone was aiming to be Oahu’s best known serial killer, but had left his prints at the scene of two failed murder attempts. His victims were able to describe him too. The report was more involved because the guy had decide to make it as hard as possible for anyone to track him down. He’d changed his identity several times since starting his attempt at a crime spree, and moved from place to place round the island, using his aliases and fake credit cards at low-rent motels. He had also rigged his last hideout, and a substantial amount of property had been destroyed in the explosion that they had detonated, by accident. Steve, being first in, was the one who had taken the brunt of the explosion. He was now at Queens. The doctor had resolutely pledged to keep him in overnight to monitor his concussion, somewhat against Steve’s will. Danny, at twenty feet further back, was only bruised, so he had decided to finish the job while it was fresh in his mind. Plus the next day was Saturday and he planned to collect Steve as soon as he was discharged, take him home to bed and keep him there all weekend. He had no mind to be writing reports instead.

The office was silent, apart from the tap of Danny’s fingers on the keyboard, his exhalations as he sighed over a few challenges in wording sounding clearly across the room. He’d sent Chin and Kono home hours ago: they had both been on site when the motel went up and were in need of a shower and a change of clothes. It had still been daylight when Danny got back to the office, but the sun had set some hours ago, and the only illumination was Danny’s desk lamp. 

Danny pressed ‘save’ and ‘print’ and leaned back in his chair to stretch. He wasn't too worried about Steve: the guy had survived worse, much worse, and had been well enough to argue with passion against remaining in hospital. 

Danny stood up to walk over to the printer. He didn't switch on more lights: he knew his way round the office well enough. At the printer he gathered together the papers, shuffling them into a neat bundle as he returned to his desk. 

With his back to the door he had no warning when the barrel of a gun was pointed at his neck. 

“Stay calm, Detective Williams. I have a little job I need your help with.”

Danny’s neat pile of papers spilled to the floor. 

~#~

Steve stirred as he roused from an uneasy sleep. He hated hospitals. It was always too bright, the lights from the corridor shining into his room throughout the night. He’d been having wild dreams, full of chases and explosions, sometimes on Oahu, sometimes in the desert, sometimes in a jungle. All through the dreams, he couldn't find Danny, kept looking behind him for his partner’s face. 

“Are you OK Commander McGarrett?” He hadn't noticed the nurse approach. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a dream.”

“That’s just going to be a side effect from the concussion. How’s the headache.”

Steve frowned. 

“Still there?”

“I suppose so.” He probed the side of his head with care, but all he could feel was the bandage. 

“I’ll bring you some more painkillers.”

She was back with the tablets in a moment, made sure Steve took them, and checked his vitals. 

“You should try to get some more sleep.” 

He watched as she left the room, then closed his eyes. He couldn't get the dreams out of his head, though, couldn't get rid of the feeling that he needed to find Danny. 

 

~#~


	2. Chapter 2

“Do you know how many Daniel Williamses there are in the US? It’s a beautiful name. So easy to lose you.”

Danny was furious. His plans to wrap up the case and take the weekend off were falling apart, because he was being held in the Five-0 offices at gunpoint. 

“Just what does my name have to do with this? You like my name, great, write me a postcard. Don’t hold me at gunpoint in my own office.”

“Don’t worry, Detective Williams. We won’t stay in your office if that’s what you object to. Mr Lee, would you bring him this way?”

Mr Lee, at six foot four, looked like he aspired to emulate Kamekona’s build. He pushed Danny, none too gently, into Steve’s office. 

“Right, sit yourself down at the desk please.” The speaker, a greying man in his fifties was polite, and smartly dressed in a charcoal suit and silver toned tie. If Danny had thought about hesitating when asked politely, Mr Lee’s gun nudged into the back of his head as a gentle reminder that it would also be polite to comply. 

“Now, would you open up the Naval database please.”

“No.”

“I wouldn't like to have to press you.”

“You can press all you like. I don’t know how.”

“Stand up. Mr Lee, would you empty his pockets.”

The suited man took Danny’s seat and started tapping at the keyboard, “It is going to be faster to do this.”

Lee took Danny’s wallet and tipped it onto the desk, pulling out each and every card, photo and scrap of paper. 

“There you go, Mr Smith.”

“Excellent. That should help. Perhaps you could take Detective Williams to the van, just in case we need him later?”

Danny’s eyes widened, and he made a token resistance as Lee took him into the main office. They exited into the corridor, and Danny decided this was the best moment to make a break for it. He twisted in Lee’s grip, raising one arm to deflect the gun away from his head. Lee was both fast and strong, though, and brought the butt of the gun down on Danny’s temple. 

Danny knew nothing more, as the big man heaved him over his shoulder, took him down the back stairs and put him none too gently into a waiting van. 

~#~


	3. Chapter 3

Dr Miller made it in to see Steve at eight thirty am.

“So, let’s have a look at you. Did you have a good night?”

“It was fair. I’ll be glad to get home.”

The doctor finished his examination. “That should be fine. I am concerned about the repeated concussions. You need to look after yourself better or we could see some long term damage. Try to make it a few more months between visits please.”

Steve shifted uncomfortably, “Hazard of the job I’m afraid.”

The doctor took off his glasses and frowned. “I’m serious, Commander McGarrett. You can’t keep doing this. It is going to take less impact to cause the same symptoms, in fact almost any impact could cause problems. You’re risking impaired memory, visual processing and reaction time right now, and in the long term you will increase your risk of dementia or Parkinson’s. I’m not sure what else to say to spell this out to you.”

Steve’s face was grave, “I understand.”

“Now, take it easy for the next few days. Do you have someone to pick you up?”

“Yes, my partner should be here any time now.”

Dr Miller looked down at his notes, “Ah, Detective Williams. Would you like me to explain the situation to him regarding repeat concussions?”

“No.” Steve’s voice was emphatic. He was just grateful that Danny hadn't been there for the doctor’s comments. “Look, he should be here any time now. I’ll just get my boots on then am I good to go?”

“That’s right. And I hope not to see you here again.”

The doctor left the room, Steve pulled on his boots and headed downstairs to wait for Danny and the car. 

Twenty minutes later he was still waiting, and getting worried. Danny wasn’t great in the mornings, sure, but he was reliable. Steve clicked redial, and the phone went to voicemail again. He gave up and called Chin.

“Hey man.”

“Steve! You OK, brah?”

“Yeah, I've been discharged, but Danny was going to pick me up. He hasn't shown up and he’s not answering his phone.”

“OK. Hang in there. I’ll get Kono to come down and get you and I’ll see if I can find Danny.”

“Thanks man.”

Kono was there in less time than it would have taken most people. She’d picked up a few driving tips from Steve. 

The red car pulled to a halt and she rolled down the window, “Hey, Steve. Where’re we going?”

~#~

“Mr Williams? Mr Williams! I do apologize, Mr Williams. Mr Lee is a little fast to react sometimes. Of course, I do appreciate his skills but I would much rather that he had not used them on you, or perhaps with less enthusiasm. Would you like some painkillers?”

Everything was fuzzy as Danny opened his eyes. He pushed back into the pillows, to put more space between his face and that of the man bending over him. 

“Mr Smith?”

“That’s right! Painkillers? Water?” The suited man held them out to Danny who hesitated. “Go on, no tricks.”

His head hurting in just the way he might expect having been coshed with a gun, Danny slowly took the tablets and inspected them. Perfectly ordinary looking, he popped them in his mouth and took a gulp of water. He closed his eyes. Bed, pillow, duvet. Most comfortable kidnapping ever. 

“No, no, come on, open those eyes.”

Danny did as asked, mainly out of curiosity. 

“What d’you want?”

“I mentioned I had a little job. I was able to do almost everything I needed, so you just relax. Perhaps we could have a chat in a while, over breakfast.”

Danny half closed his eyes again. 

“I think you might feel better after a shower. Mr Lee will show you the way.”

Danny quashed the urge to say ‘leave me alone’ and let his legs fall out of bed. The burly Mr Lee was already there and he remembered what had happened last time he’d resisted. Perhaps he could see more of where he was being held and work out a plan to get help. 

He was ushered from the bedroom - plain white walls, wide narrow windows too high to see through - into an equally plain white bathroom. 

“I’ll be just outside the door.” Lee said. 

Danny looked down at himself and freaked. Someone had put him in pale blue plaid pajamas. He didn't like the thought of Smith or Lee being responsible. He turned on the shower as cover and looked around the room. The same high windows, only these ones were opaque and sealed. Damn. No cupboards or cabinets, nothing but a white robe, white towels, a white bar of soap. 

He left the shower running and sneaked to the door which Lee had left ajar. Hoping that it was well oiled he opened it a fraction to come face-to-face with the man’s broad shoulders. No hope of escape there, he decided to take the shower as instructed. 

He didn't want to put the pajamas back on so dried himself rapidly and put on the robe. He was just about to leave the bathroom and give Mr Lee the heads up so as not to startle him when he heard Mr Smith call from down the hallway, “Mr Lee. I require your presence for a moment.” The big man lumbered off down the hall, leaving Danny perfectly positioned to explore. He checked the hallway was clear, then shot across into the opposite room. 

He paused for a moment once inside the office, as he was faced by an array of filing drawers and computers, then swiftly took a fold of bathrobe and tried to open a drawer. Locked, damn! One desk was covered with various papers, and as he looked closer he recognized the stamps you might need to fake a passport. 

His eyes lit up, however, when he saw a phone. He palmed it, tucked it into the pocket of his bathrobe, and headed towards the hall. Looking both ways he slipped across into the bathroom, flushed the toilet for cover and dialed Steve’s number. 

He cursed again when it went to voicemail, but left a message, “Steve, I don’t know where I am, but I need you to get me out of here. Fast. I’m really sorry...”

He didn't get the chance to say anything more. Lee stormed into the bathroom and snatched the phone out of his hands. 

~#~


	4. Chapter 4

They went to the office, of course.

“But shouldn’t you be taking it easy? What did the doctor say?”

“Nothing!” Steve was angry. “I’m not going home until I know where Danny is. I dreamed about this last night...”

Kono glanced at Steve out of the corner of her eye. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine.” He took a breath, “Office. Now. Please.” He stopped her attempts at further persuasion by calling Chin. 

“You got anything?”

“His phone was at the office so I came over. You’re not going to like this brah. His car’s still here. been here since last night. There’s papers all over the floor - reports he must have written last night too.”

“Damn. Step on it Kono.” And Steve hung up. 

Moments later they were pulling into car park when Steve’s phone vibrated. 

“Maybe it’s Danny,” Kono looked hopeful at the thought. 

He dialed voicemail, “You have one message. Click 1 to play, 2 to...

_‘Steve, I don’t know where I am, but I need you to get me out of here. Fast. I’m really sorry...’”_

“Right, let’s get Chin onto this. At least we have something to work on now.” And Steve leaped out of the car and ran into the building. 

~#~

Steve sat at the desk, his face grim. His gun was in pieces in front of him, and he tried to suppress the way his hands shook as he greased and reassembled it. 

“Come on, Chin.” His voice was quiet, but Chin still heard. 

“I got nothing, brah.”

“Fuck.” Steve swore as he dropped a tiny spring on the floor. He bent down to retrieve it, his head thumping with the movement. He swore again. 

Chin bent down too. “What’s up?”

“Look.” Steve held out a small photo of Grace. “That’s from Danny’s wallet. They must have pulled everything out to get it. He’d never have let them take it.”

Both men stood up as Kono walked in. 

“I’ve alerted HPD. I’m gonna start looking at anything Danny might have been working on where someone might be on the loose with a grudge. What’s that?”

“Photo of Grace, from his wallet, “Steve replied. 

“Oh.”

~#~

Mr Lee was sweating heavily as he wrestled Danny down the hall. Danny’s concern was divided between what was going to happen next and the fact that the robe was about to come untied and expose him. 

“Mr Lee, what is this all about?”

“He had a phone.”

“Oh dear, oh dear. That wasn’t nice Mr Williams, not pleasant at all. Look how worried Mr Lee is. I would expect more consideration.”

Danny was speechless. 

“Now I’m sure you could manage some breakfast, so pop along to your room and get dressed. Mr Lee, perhaps you could lock the office door?”

Danny did as he was told, thinking that perhaps he could better face this whole strange situation if he was wearing pants. 

Moments later he returned, garbed in a grey t-shirt and sweatpants. “Where are my clothes?”

“They were soiled, I’m afraid. The back of the van must need a clean.”

Danny groaned. 

“Coffee? Malasadas?” Smith asked. 

He looked at the table beside Mr Smith. Smith poured the coffee, added cream and sugar and passed it over. “Well, this is much better. Now tell me about yourself.”

“What the hell?”

“Just a little conversation over breakfast. I know you’re a father, what do you enjoy doing with your daughter on the weekend?”

“No. We’re not doing this. You’re holding me against my will and you think I’m going to make pleasant chit chat about what I do with my daughter? Not. Gonna. Happen.”

“We could talk about something else. What pets did you have as a child, perhaps? Or your mother, what was her name before she married? Or Commander McGarrett, did he have any pets? Which teams do you guys support?”

“You’re crazy.”

“No, just hoping that we might be able to do this the polite way.”

“I don’t think so.” Danny jutted out his chin and crossed his arms. “I don’t know what you want, but I’m not helping. You can let me go right now.”

“Oh Mr Williams, that is a shame. It’s not hard to hurt people. How would little Gracie do if step-daddy Stan lost all his money? It’s only numbers on a computer after all.”

Danny gritted his teeth, but said nothing. 

“Now that doesn’t have to happen. All I need is the access codes for the naval computer systems.”

Danny didn’t say that he’d got the wrong man.

“I know Commander McGarrett tells you everything, I’ve seen how close you both are. I’m sure you have some clues that would speed things up. No? Perhaps you’d like to see this. Mr Lee!”

Lee grabbed Danny under the arm and forced him to stand. He marched him along the corridor where Smith unlocked the office door. Lee shoved Danny roughly inside the room. 

“Very smart of you to get into here, or perhaps not. You couldn’t have done anything without passwords.” Smith typed rapidly “And no-one’s going to be hacking these with ease.”

“Now, look at this.” Danny was shocked to see right into Five-0 HQ. “I’ve set this up so as soon as your colleague logs in using his work computer I’ll know. But I’m in a hurry I’m afraid. So, penury for the Edwards, or tell me what you know of the Commander’s codes.”

Danny closed his mouth and shook his head. 

“Right. You’ll enjoy watching as Grace loses her home when Mr Edwards can’t make the payments I’m sure.” Smith tapped at the keyboard and allowed Danny to watch as he pulled up account after account and changed the balance to zero. 

“That’s not real!” Danny said in disbelief. 

“Oh it’s very real I’m afraid. And it’s all your doing. Mr Lee, take Mr Williams to his room. And do lock the door.”

~#~


	5. Chapter 5

Steve’s phone rang. 

“Hello, Rachel?”

“Commander McGarrett, something terrible has happened.”

“What, is Grace hurt?”

“No, she’s fine. It’s our bank accounts. We think they’ve been hacked. There’s not a penny in any of them. Stanley has called HPD, but I wondered if you could look into this.”

“Of course Rachel. I think I should tell you something though.”

“What?”

“Danny’s gone missing. He disappeared sometime last night from the office, but we only worked it out when he didn’t pick me up from hospital this morning. The CCTV shows nothing, but he managed to get a call in to us an hour or so ago. Do you have any idea how this might all link up?”

“No, Commander, no idea at all.”

“Perhaps you could speak to your husband. One of the team will be over soon.”

~#~

Kono had been chosen to go and interrogate Stan. Steve had nominated her, leaving Chin to look into the Edwards accounts while he updated the Governor on why one of his officers was missing while a major Island business owner had suddenly lost all his funds. He hung up and rubbed his brow. 

“What have you got, Chin?”

“They’re good, whoever’s done this. Better than I am. It’s a work of the computer dark arts to access so many accounts in such a short space of time. And Stan’s accounts are not straightforward. From what he sent over he had money in a lot of different places. Stocks, shares, business accounts: whoever’s doing this has done their research well. They’ve wiped him out.”

“OK, so can you start running hackers. Hackers with a grudge against Danny, or Stan maybe?”

“Might be. Databases are running really slow this morning. It might be that Danny is simply a means to an end. What if they just wanted to access our computers here, and Danny was just in the way?”

“Maybe. Do you think clearing out the Edwards accounts could be a way to try and leverage Danny? Threatening Grace’s home and security might do that. Hell, this is so frustrating. I can’t stand doing nothing.”

“We’re doing our best, brah. I know you’d rather be out knocking heads with someone over this but we just don’t know who to look for.”

“Knocking heads. Do you know what the doctor said this morning, Chin? Hell, it seems like a lifetime ago.”

“What?” Chin looked concerned. 

“He thinks I’ve hit my head once too often. That I should take a back seat. Stop putting myself in the position where I might get hurt. It would be like this all the time, but when we got a lead you guys would go after it and I’d stay here.”

“And if you don’t?”

“Then I could suffer memory loss, permanent brain damage in one way or another.”

“Oh.” Chin’s face was a carefully schooled blank. “What did you say?”

“I said I’d take note of what he said. What else could I do?”

~#~

Danny paced up and down in the small bedroom. He had stood on the bed to look out of the windows, but the gap was too narrow to squeeze through and there was nothing but green as far as he could see. 

Frustrated in his attempts to escape he chewed over what he knew. Smith was some sort of computer buff, that was for sure. He had fake ID material, and a compelling desire to get into the naval computer system, and presumably into some part of it that he couldn’t hack. Plus an unhealthy obsession with the name Williams. Smith. Lee. Danny wondered for a moment if there was any name more common in the US than Smith. Lee must be pretty high up the list, and there were lots of Williamses. False identities. He heard Smith saying to him, _“Do you know how many Daniel Williamses there are in the US? Over five thousand, five hundred. It’s a beautiful name. So easy to lose you.” ___Who would he want to lose in the US Navy? Or perhaps who might want to get into the Navy without being detected. If Smith could set up false Naval IDs for terrorists... A shiver ran through Danny as he imagined the damage that could be done, and he hoped that Steve was going to track his location soon.

_~#~_


	6. Chapter 6

In the end, Danny sat back on the bed and put his feet up. He just hoped Steve, Chin and Kono had got his message and were acting on it. He had closed his eyes for a moment when he was startled by the door opening. 

Lee pulled him roughly off the bed. Smith had been nothing but polite, but Danny could see that the big man was looking increasingly frayed. 

“Hey, watch it! You gonna keep me prisoner, you may as well look after me!” 

“Mr Smith wants to see you, now!”

Danny twisted away from the hold. 

“And did he say rough me up first? No, I didn’t think so. Is he giving you a hard time? Perhaps you weren’t supposed to knock me out last night? Maybe you should have paid more attention to the bathroom door?” Danny didn’t know what he hoped to achieve by winding Lee up, but it sure as hell beat coming quietly. “What’s he going to say when you knock me unconscious again?” 

Lee ground his teeth, and grabbed Danny’s arm again, “Don’t keep him waiting or it’ll be worse for both of us!”

Smith was seated at a big table, surrounded by a laptop, beers and a pizza box. 

“Mr Williams. Take a seat. Beer? Pizza?”

“What do you want?”

“Flying Fish. I got it on import. The pie’s the best I’ve found on the Island.”

“That’s very nice _Mr_ Smith, but I asked you a question and as you might say it would be polite to answer. Stop buttering me up with imported beer.”

“You know what I want. I’m sure you’ve been in the office when Commander McGarrett has entered his passwords. You’re a detective. And I’m on a schedule. You give me his passwords or I’ll have to take the next steps.”

Danny wondered for a moment what Smith would do if he simply said he didn’t know the passwords. It might be the truth, but he might also suddenly become expendable. Where was Steve when you needed him?

“No ball. I’m not giving you anything. I’m not letting anyone access Naval databases. Can’t you hack your way in anyway?”

Smith smacked a beer bottle down on the table, and Danny thought for a moment he’d snapped and was going to glass him. Instead Smith took a breath and said, “I’m trying to be amicable Mr Williams but you are making it very difficult. Let’s see if the Commander is more helpful.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Wait and see.” Smith popped up a view of Steve’s computer in one corner of the screen, and started tapping away at the keyboard. 

~#~

“Chin, do you have anything yet on where that call came from? Can’t you tell which mast?” Steve asked. 

“I’m looking into it, but it’s masked. This guy’s hot on his tech.”

“Look, I’m going to get lunch for everyone.”

“Do you want me to go?” Kono asked. She’d just got back in from the Edwards visit. 

“No, I’m doing nothing here and I need some fresh air. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Steve ran down the stairs and over to the nearest sandwich bar. He put an order in for the team’s usual, frowning as he missed Danny’s coffee and deli special off the list. 

“$16.30 please. You one short today?”

“Something like that.” He couldn’t look the man in the eye as he put his card into the machine to pay. 

“Sorry Commander, that card’s been declined. Do you have another one?”

Steve furrowed his brow and pulled another card from his wallet. 

“Try this.”

Both men watched as he put the second card in the machine. 

“Nope.”

“Damn.” Steve fumbled in his pockets. “I don’t think I’ve got enough.”

“Owe it to us. It’s not like I can’t come and find you.”

“Thanks, man.”

Steve picked up the bag and walked back up to the office, his head down and his mind whirring furiously. 

~#~


	7. Chapter 7

“Chin!” The call resonated across the office. “Is there a problem with the Bank of Hawaii?”

“I can look into it.”

“Do it. Now. I can’t get my card to work. I haven’t changed the number, I haven’t forgotten the number.” 

Steve thumped the bag of coffee and sandwiches down on the tech table and Chin moved it swiftly onto the floor. 

“There’s no problem with the bank. Do you want me to look at your account?”

“Go on.” Steve came and leaned over Chin’s shoulder.

“Steve, I think you may have a problem.”

Steve scowled. 

“You don’t have an account at the Bank of Hawaii. Not now, not ever.”

“But… OK, National State. I’ve got savings there.”

It took Chin a few moments of clicking before he said “No. nothing. Hold on, give me your wallet.”

He ran Steve’s details through the Drivers License database. “We’ve got more than a problem Steve. You’re not here, not anywhere. Officially, you don’t exist.”

“I knew it. This is the same guy. Same MO. Hell. what if he’s wiped me from the Naval databases too?”

“Toast! We need Toast. Can’t he hack back, see who’s been in?” Kono asked. 

“Maybe.” Chin was doubtful. “This isn’t a teen hacker in their bedroom cuz. They’re wiped Steve from state systems, from national systems. If they can do that to one person, that’s scary.”

“And if they can wipe me out, what else could they do? I’ll go check into the Navy system in my office.”

“Hold on. They’ve been in here, when they got Danny. It’s no wonder I haven’t been able to trace them. Come on!” Chin grabbed Kono by one arm, Steve by the other and pulled them bodily out of the office. 

~#~

In a secluded white bungalow, on the edge of the Keaiwa Heiau State Park, a man in a grey suit angrily slammed his beer bottle onto the table. “Right, Mr Williams. I’m done waiting. My colleague is going to take a turn to persuade you to help us.”

~#~


	8. Chapter 8

It took forty minutes to drive up to the Ka’a’awa Valley, even with Steve’s foot down and the blue lights on most of the way. Steve slowed the pace a little as they pulled up, 

“Don’t want to spook him.”

“It’ll take more than your driving to do that brah,” Kono said. 

Once out of the car Steve announced their presence with a call of “Toast!” It only took a moment to track the man down to out on the lanai, chilling with his laptop open. “Toast, we need help, Danny’s missing and Chin thinks that he’s been caught by a serious hacker. Chin, tell him where you’re up to.”

Chin explained, resulting in a “No way!” from Toast, “What do you want me to do?”

“We need to find the guy. He bounced the phone signal so we couldn’t tell where he came from, but we know he’s hacked into several banks this morning already. If there is any way you can get a trace back then we might be able to get a location for Danny.”

“I think he’s bugged the office and put something into HPD computers already - he was in the office last night. I didn’t work that out until just now, so he’s been able to deflect everything we’ve done away from him.”

“This is unreal, I thought you were the one who got into trouble and Jersey got you out of it,” Toast said, looking at Steve. “You should take better care of him.” He turned to Chin, “Right, give me what you got, phone calls, bank accounts and all.” Chin pulled up the details on his tablet, and sat back to watch Toast work. 

After a few moments Toast said, “He’s good, you know, but not that good.”

“That’s reassuring, brah.”

“Come on,” Steve said, “Clock’s ticking. Where’s Danny?”

“The phone. It wasn’t as secure as he made out. The nearest tower’s Napuanani Park. I’ll have the IP in a minute. And you’re right, Chin, he’s inside HPD’s servers right now. Looks like he’s watching Steve’s computer.”

Chin turned to Steve, “So it’s something on your computer. What’s on there that’s not elsewhere? What do you use it for?”

“Hell! That’s the only one I access the Naval system from. Probably the only way into that sort of system that’s not on a base. I nearly checked if he’d managed to erase me from the Naval system before you dragged us out of the office Chin.”

It was Toast’s turn to look grim, “He’s monitoring your keystrokes on that keyboard, brah. You access the database, he’s in too. And once he gets in once he can create a back door so he can come and go as he likes, virtually. That’s what he’s after, man.”

“So why take Danny?” Kono asked. 

“Because he thinks that Danny know’s my passwords. He was the backup plan - or maybe the first plan, I don’t know. Maybe that’s why the Edwards accounts were attacked, to get at Danny via Grace. He then tried to provoke me to go in to the Naval servers to see if he’d taken down my ID on there.”

“So what’s his plan C?”

“Danny. He’s got him, he’s going to be putting more pressure on him to get him into the database.”

Chin looked worried, “Does he know your passwords?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to leave him in this hackers hands long enough to find out.”

~#~

Lee looked big and slow, but Danny had already found out that he could be both strong and fast. And now, he was discovering that he had a twisted imagination too. 

~#~


	9. Chapter 9

“You really gotta live closer into town, brah,” Kono shouted back at Toast and Steve slammed his foot on the accelerator and drove back towards Honolulu. Chin was staying with Toast to see what else they could find to give them the advantage. 

Kono got on the phone to call for backup, “They’re meeting us there in 30 minutes, boss.” She snapped her seat belt into place and held on for dear life as Steve pushed Danny’s Camaro to its limits. 

~#~

Danny shut his eyes and breathed in, as deeply as he could without making the pain in his side worse. In and out, in and out. Lee seemed to have stopped for a moment. Then Smith spoke up, “Ready yet, Mr Williams? I have a customer who would appreciate it if we could expedite this whole process.”

Danny shook his head. 

“Mr Lee, back to you.”

~#~

Kono’s phone rang as they neared Napuanani Park.

“Hey cuz, what have you got for us?” She flipped the phone to speaker. 

“There could be a plan D, and you might be walking right into it. What if Danny was captured just so Steve would go in after him?”

“That might be the plan,” Steve replied, “but I’m not just leaving him there, Chin.”

“I know, but for God’s sake wait for backup this time. What did you say to me this morning?”

Kono watched as Steve’s face closed over and he said, “I’ll do what I’ve got to do Chin.”   
Steve pulled the car up at the rendezvous point on the far side of the park, and he and Kono pulled on their vests. HPD were already massing, and Steve could see a SWAT team lead by Michael Keoni just pulling up. 

Once everyone was assembled he distributed the teams. “Duke, can your men form the outer ring. Keoni, I’ll lead round the back with half your team, Kono can you take the assault on the front. Remember,we need to get Danny out safely; we need to get between him and them, and we don’t know how many of them there are.”

~#~

The only redeeming fact in Danny’s mind was that he couldn’t tell Smith anything. As Lee pulled out another of his fingernails, he felt like he might have been tempted. Instead he just screamed. 

~#~

Outside, Steve heard him, “That’s Danny. On three, we’re going in. One, two, three...”

He lead the team up the stairs at the back of the bungalow. It was raised on stilts, tucked out of sight at the end of a track, and they crept up with speed and stealth. 

SLAM!

Steve shot the door open and charged in. The discreet location had made it easier to sneak up and surround the property. 

BAM!

Another shot indicated that Kono’s team had entered at the front. The bungalow was small, a long corridor running from front to back. 

“Clear!” The first room was just a bathroom. 

“Clear!” A couple of bedrooms followed, small enough to clear at a glance. 

“Not one step further or the Detective gets it.” A giant of a man had his arm round Danny’s neck, ready to throttle him. 

“Let him go! You’ve got no way out. Release Detective Williams!” Steve held his gun steady, aiming at the big man’s head, but the man walked forwards. 

“Back up. I’m leaving, and I’m taking him with me. Clear out of my way or I snap his neck.”

Everyone backed up, even as Danny said, “Yeah, great plan, Lee. You snap my neck, they shoot you, we’re all dead. Smith really was the brains wasn't he. Speaking of which, did you see him sneak out? He’s left you holding the baby hasn't he?”

Lee started looking round, perturbed by Danny’s words, and Danny took advantage of the big man’s lapse in concentration to stamp on his foot and twist free. 

Danny fell to the ground, partly because he couldn’t stand up, partly to give Steve a clear shot. Seeing what was going to happen, Lee barreled forwards, as fast as he could, heading for the back door. Steve fired as the man got nearer and nearer, but Lee’s momentum carried them both out the door and over the edge of the balcony with a crash. 

~#~


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a long three days. Danny had spent most of them at the hospital, first as a patient, and then by Steve’s bedside while they waited for him to regain consciousness. 

“How’re the hands, brah?” Kono asked as she entered the room. 

“They’re OK. Just glad he didn’t have time to do more than get started on the right one. The ribs are still a pain, though. That nurse took pity on me last night.”

“So I see!” Kono glanced over at the extra bed and piles of pillows in the corner of the room. “I’ve never seen that many pillows in a hospital. Does she have a secret stash?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t have access to decent food though!”

“Ah, I knew I came here for a reason.” Kono unpacked the bag she’d brought in. “Coffee. Malasadas. That should be you set.”

“You bring anything else? I’ve kind of gone off that particular breakfast combination.”

“Now I am worried. Take the coffee anyway. My mum’s sent over a few things. Let’s see what’s in here.”

~#~

Kono had gone back to the office where Chin was supervising Toast. 

The hacker was acting as a consultant, “It’s better pay than the shop, man!” and cleaning up the bugs installed by Smith. 

He was also assessing what Smith had done while in HPD. His real name wasn’t Smith, but he had wiped all of his own records off the system, so it was going to take a while to reconstruct his history. Toast’s first job had been to restore Steve’s identity, and put Stan’s accounts back to how they should be. 

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Chin said. 

“You didn’t see me do anything, man.”

~#~

In the hospital room, Danny looked at Steve, “This wasn’t what I’d planned for our weekend Steven.” He didn’t get a response, didn’t expect one. “You’d have thought one concussion a week would be plenty, hell most of us get by on one a month.” 

The smiles Danny had managed for Kono were no longer in evidence as he gripped Steve’s hand, ignoring the pain it caused in his damaged fingers. “Come on, I need you man. Live and kicking. When are you going to come round?”

~#~

It took another twenty four hours before Steve moved, and the strain was showing on Danny. 

“You should be at home resting up, brah.” 

Chin was taking a turn at keeping Danny company, while Kono did some research into the Smith’s customers and exactly what they had been planning to do with fake IDs and access to the Naval servers. She’d taken the hacker down as he tried to escape through a window, and was now committed to making sure he paid for what he’d done to her ohana. 

“No, “ Danny said. “He’s stirred twice this morning. He’s going to wake up, and I’m going to be there when he does. Even if it is just so I can knock him out myself.”

Chin looked concerned, “He said something to me. Before he went in.”

“What?”

“The doctor told him not to take stupid risks with his head any more, that he risked permanent brain injury.”

“I know. Dr Miller filled me in yesterday.”

“I reminded Steve what the doctor said, told him to wait for backup, but he only had one thing on his mind. All his focus was on getting you out.”

“I know, Chin, that’s the problem. It’s Steve right down to the ground. And as long as he’s in Five-0 he’s going to put everyone else before himself. ”

~#~


	11. Chapter 11

“Where’s Danny?” 

“Right here Steve, I'm right here.” The relief in Danny’s voice was enormous, at least for a moment. 

“Gotta find him.”

“I’m here, Steven. Steve?”

Steve’s eyes were open, finally, but they were unfocused. Danny pressed the call button, hard. 

“Come on, Steve. You’re in the hospital. I’m safe. In one piece. Mostly. You got me out.” 

The seconds seemed like hours as Danny tried to break through to Steve, “Hey, come on, big guy, you’re OK now, come on.”

A nurse entered, but Danny didn’t notice her as Steve finally realized where he was, realized that Danny was right there in front of him, and smiled. 

~#~

There hadn’t been time to talk: Dr Miller had come down to check Steve over, then Chin and Kono came in. Now, though, the cousins had gone back to continue to mop up the Smith case. 

“At least I’m off the paperwork for this one,” Danny said, looking at his bandaged hands. “Kono says she’s sure I could use some dictation app, but it won’t hurt her to try and explain this whole mess. She might appreciate me a bit more, don’t you think?”

Steve wasn’t listening. He looked at Danny and said, “Danno, what did the doctor say to you about me?”

“Oh, do you really want to talk about this?” 

Steve tilted his head to try and assess just what Danny was thinking as his partner carried on talking. 

“What? Did he tell me you’re in danger of losing your marbles if you get hit on the head again? That the reason you’ve been unconscious for three days is because it’s not 24 hours since your last concussion? Did he spell out to me as your loving partner the consequence of another head injury might be permanent memory loss, loss of reaction time, the inability to coordinate your movements? Yes he did Steven.”

Steve didn't think he’d ever seen Danny so upset, and what he was about to say wouldn't help. 

“I need to ask you something.”

Steve cleared his throat, his face somber as he watched Danny’s expression close over. 

“What?”

“I didn't know what to do when the doctor told me. But when found that you were missing, I had to look for you. I couldn't do anything else. And I realized that if I was the one who found you, I’d have to go in, whatever the doctor said. I could wait and go in with back up, sure, but I couldn't sit on the sidelines and watch someone else do my job. That’s not me. And I can’t sit on the sidelines for the next 30 years. Yes, I want to grow old with you, but I’ve been trained to be who I am. And that means I need to act. And there are risks. And I might be prepared to take those risks, but I know it’s not just about me any more. So I’ve got to ask, Danny, do you want me to change the way the team works, take on a rookie or two, while I stay in the office?

Steve finished, his expression as closed as Danny’s now. He tried to read Danny’s face, but Danny wouldn’t meet his eyes, and lowered his gaze to his bandaged hands. His voice was quiet as he spoke.

“That's a lot to ask Steve. And I know what you’re really asking. Am I OK to let you carry on in your current crazy fashion with no respect for your own safety, in the hope that we take down one more criminal, or maybe ten more criminals, or a hundred more criminals? And am I OK to pick up the pieces when you need collecting from the hospital, to wait for the coma you don’t come out of, to see the years we could have had together in retirement turn into a time when I’m caring for someone with dementia instead? I don’t know, Steve. I just don’t know.”

Danny pushed himself up out of the chair with care and walked from the room, stiffness still evident from where he’d been beaten. 

Steve battled with the urge to rip out the wires, pull out the catheter and run after him. 

~#~


	12. Chapter 12

Danny strode out of the hospital. He needed to be anywhere else, but he still couldn’t drive. He walked into the grounds, across the car park. His steps slowed as he realized just how much pain his ribs were still giving him. Thwarted, he sank down onto a bench. He raised his hands to rub his face, but put them back in his lap as he was reminded by the bandages that rubbing anything was a bad idea. He slumped back and looked at the sky. 

Someone sat down next to him, so he turned. “Dr Miller.”

“How are you, Detective Williams?”

“Peachy, just peachy. Just trying to work out how to deal with your edict.”

The doctor looked blankly at him. 

“About Steve. Commander McGarrett. Mr ‘jump first, think after’.”

“Aah. Yes. I see.”

“It’s going to kill him, one way or another, you know. Either because he will do as you suggest, quit getting involved in the action and die slowly from boredom behind a desk ... or because he’ll decide he can’t, and he’ll blow himself up doing something heroic. And stupid. And you know, he’s asked me to tell him what I want him to do.”

“Isn’t there a middle way?”

For the first time Danny sat up and took notice, “What do you mean?”

“You’re both taking what I advised to one extreme. I should have been clearer. Isn’t it possible for Commander McGarrett to revise his risk assessment of each situation that you face? Rather than sitting behind a desk, surely a man of his experience would be valuable in the field, but he doesn’t have to lead on every attack. I hear that young Officer Kalakaua played a key role in the capture of your kidnapper. She’d welcome the chance to step up I’m sure. But I’m not here to do your job for you. Go and talk to your Steve. See if you can get him to stop thinking in black and white.”

~#~

Danny made his way slowly back into the hospital, chewing over the doctor’s words. Maybe there was a way out. He was abruptly interrupted in his ruminations when Steve barrelled into him. 

“What the hell are you doing down here Steve?” was Danny’s angry reaction. 

“You left. I couldn’t sit and wait. Look, I’ll resign. They’re going to be looking at my fitness to be in the Reserves anyway after this, and I’ll tell the Governor I’m out too. It’s not worth it. I know how I felt when I heard you scream. If that’s how you feel every time I...”

“Do something stupid,” Danny said.

“Ok, every time I do something stupid. Or a bit risky. Or possibly necessary for the mission...”

“Steven, you were saying...”

“I know. I meant it when I said I wanted to grow old together Danny. I’ve seen what the job did to Dad. And Mum. I want a life. Not just a mission.”

“Come on you big lug,” Danny carefully wrapped his arm round Steve and guided him back into the hospital. “I don't suppose you told the nurse where you were heading, did you? Now, I’ve been talking to Dr Miller...” 

END


End file.
